Luke Skywalker: X-Wing Pilot - Jumbo Vintage Kenner Figures

Just like you remember them, only bigger! There couldn’t be a more perfect tagline for the Jumbo Vintage Kenner line than that, can there? When first introduced, response was mixed. And collectors began wondering what Gentle Giant Ltd. planned to do with the line. Within a few short years since the line was announced and the first figure (Boba Fett) was released, Gentle Giant Ltd. has chosen characters from across all three Original Trilogy films and only nearly ever available card back type made by Kenner back in the day. Luke Skywalker: X-Wing Pilot came out of the blue so to speak. Announced suddenly on January 15th, they made the figure available to PGMs for the low price of $49.00 for the the first 48 hours it went on sale. Because they retail for $80, this was a tremendous blessing for collectors who “need” to collect them all. Almost as fast as Luke Skywalker: X-Wing Pilot went on sale, Gentle Giant Ltd. starting shipping them out and they began arriving to collectors’ doors all across the United States (and abroad). We don’t know about you, but we’re excited for this line and we hope that Hasbro intends on releasing every last original Kenner figure in this scale. That’s how much we love them.

Luke Skywalker: X-Wing Pilot is pretty much everything you’d expect. You likely got the figure in 1979 (at a much smaller scale), so you know what to expect from it at a larger scale. The figure has some coloring issues. The uniform isn’t in the same bright orange color that was used for the 3.75” scale figure. More muted and a little too dull quite honestly, Luke Skywalker: X-Wing Pilot doesn’t exactly match its ancestor as much as we would have liked to see. In fact, all of the other paint operations have been dulled down as well. The black and white details on his vest and chest box all seem to be lacking the glorious “shine” of the smaller vintage Kenner figures. When packaged however, Luke Skywalker: X-Wing Pilot looks fabulous. Obviously that all has to do with the classic packaging they’ve mimicked and upsized to this large scale. It’s really quite amazing the power that line look style has on our psyches. It brings you “home” or to a place of intense nostalgia. And we’re so impressed that Gentle Giant Ltd. does it with such style and grace, even if they didn’t get all the details exactly perfect on the actual figure.

Just like the figure from 1979, Luke Skywalker: X-Wing Pilot comes with five (5) points of articulation. A swivel head is joined by two swivel shoulders and two swivel hips (with the same limited “backwards” articulation that the smaller sized figure had). There have been reports of legs and arms (and even hands) popping off of these figures so we disinclined to force them any direction (or even move them that much out of fear of ruining them). But this particular figure seems to be much more durable than say Death Squad Commander or Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi released earlier in the lineup. Luke Skywalker: X-Wing Pilot comes with a large version of the blaster pistol that came with the 1979 version. We have to comment that our sample came with a deformed blaster pistol because of the way it was packaged. We’re not sure however if this is commonplace or just our particular unit. The Jumbo Vintage Kenner Figures line really won’t be breaking any new ground no matter what they release. Every figure is approached relatively the same way: rotocast vinyl. Some feel this is a cheaper route to take especially since the figures are so expensive. But we have to tell you that they is something extraordinarily special about these figures and would recommend the line to anyone who will listen.

Collector Notes

Luke Skywalker: X-Wing Pilot

Status: Luke Skywalker: X-Wing Pilot is an all-new figure.

Exclusivity: N/A

Articulation Count: 5

Articulation Details: swivel head, 2 swivel shoulders, 2 swivel hips

Accessory Count: 1

Accessory Details: blaster pistol

Date Stamp: 2012

UPC: 871810009794

Retail: $79.99 USD ($49.00 for the first 48 hours it went on sale – PGMs only)